Santa Maria style salsa is a necessary accompaniment to Santa Maria barbecue. I, of course, could not make it exactly as they do in Santa Maria.
Author Archives: karllueck
Karl’s Fried Tofu and Shiitake Mushrooms
I am making chicken teriyaki, fresh tofu, and pickles for Sunday night. To make the fresh tofu look pretty I had trimmed the slumping sides off. This left me with five thin slabs of tofu. I decided that I wanted to make a Shiitake mushroom dish with them.
Filed under Side Dishes, Stir-fry, Vegan, Vegetarian
Karl’s Crab Cakes with Aioli and Champaign Pickled Radishes
This meal started in a very different place than it ended. In the morning, I suggested to Jan that I make fish that night. Lately, that has meant fish tacos, but I am getting board with that. Jan suggested lobster rolls, but that is too expensive in California. I suggested Langoustine, which are kind of Italian mini-lobsters. When I got to the store, I found no Langoustine and there was not even any lobster.
Filed under California Fusion, Main Dishes, Salads, Seafood
Karl’s Aioli
I am making aioli for my crab cakes. This sauce is more or less mayonnaise with garlic. You may make it mellow by roasting the garlic first or make it really strong by putting in a lot of raw garlic. For my crab cakes I want a little bite, but I do not want the garlic to overpower the crab. I am adding just one small clove of garlic.
Filed under Sauces and Spices, Vegetarian
Karl’s Champaigne Pickled Radishes
I am making crab cakes and in looking for recipes, I found one that included shredded radishes as a garnish. The white strips with red tips produced a very pretty effect. Another recipe included Champaigne coleslaw. Since I had already decided on using an herb salad as the base of my dish, I decided to combine these two ideas as a garnish and make lightly pickled radish shreds.
Filed under Pickles, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Karl’s Greek Lemon Rice with Pearl Onions
A while ago I discovered the secret to restaurant quality Mexican rice. Like most Americans, I had been putting all of the ingredients into the pot with the raw rice and cooking everything together. Sometimes the rice would come out perfect, but most of the time it would come out as a sticky mess. The secret is to cook the rice separately and then stir it into the sauce.
Filed under Rice, Side Dishes, Starches, Vegan, Vegetarian
Karl’s Greek Artichoke Salad
I am making lemon rice to go with my Greek lamb. Starch is not on my son-in-law’s diet. I need a substantial vegetables salad, so he does not go hungry. Throwing out the orzo in my Greek salad and replacing it with artichoke hearts struck my fancy.
Filed under Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetables
Karl’s Spanish Turkey Meatballs
Jan wanted gazpacho for dinner. I do not consider this a meal in itself, it is a liquid salad. She agreed to let me add meatballs, but only if they were turkey.
Filed under Main Dishes, Poultry, Turkey









